Weekly E-Newsbrief
March 17, 2023
The E-Newsbrief of the National Clearinghouse is a free weekly newsletter focusing on new developments in the world of worker health and safety. Each issue provides summaries of the latest worker health and safety news from newspapers, magazines, journals, government reports, and the Web, along with links to the original documents. Also featured each week are updates from government agencies that handle hazmat and worker safety issues such as DOE, EPA, OSHA and others.
Subscribing to the National Clearinghouse Newsbrief is the best way to stay on top of the worker health and safety news.
- Top Stories
- Calendar Features
- On The Web This Week
- Federal Agency Update
- Awardee Highlights/Online Learning
- Job Openings
- We Want Your Feedback
- Newsbriefs Past Issues
| Top Stories | Back to Top |
Keystone Science Lecture with Kenneth Oldfield
Join the NIEHS and Sharon Beard for The Keystone Science Lecture featuring Kenny Oldfield, principal investigator of WTP grantee Alabama Fire College (AFC). Kenny will be presenting on AFC’s training to build response capacity in communities. The hybrid meeting will be held on March 29, 2023, 2:00 p.m. EST.
WTP COVID-19 Accomplishments Report
The intent of the report is to share the NIEHS Worker Training Program’s COVID-19 response and activities from March 2020 to September 2022. Activities included webinars, workshops, needs assessments, and training tools to protect workers and communities from exposure to SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The report is posted on the Infectious Disease and Biological Hazards Training page and Program Highlights page.
Biden Proposes Investment in Sectoral Training, Apprenticeships
The proposal includes $200 million for the Sectoral Employment through Career Training for Occupational Readiness program — a public-private partnership program that aims to bolster training in high-need industries. Sectoral training, in which workers (often without college degrees) are trained to work in a specific sector of the economy, has featured in previous Biden budget proposals.
HR Dive [Author: Kathryn Moody]
NIOSH Aims to Improve American Indian and Alaska Native Worker Safety
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has created a strategic plan for research and outreach to improve worker health among American Indian and Alaska Native tribes. The 10-year strategy details the program’s research, practice, policy and capacity-building objectives for preventing injuries and illnesses. It also outlines plans for progress evaluations – both at the midpoint of the research period and at the end.
| Calendar Features | Back to Top |
Violence and Aggression in Health Care
This webinar will examine this complex issue and the upstream factors contributing to violence in healthcare settings. Although many organizations are actively working to create healthy and safe workplaces, the persistent rise in workplace violence is having an adverse effect on worker health, recruitment, and retention, as well as patient outcomes. The event will be held on March 21, 2023, 2:00 p.m. EST.
The Ohio Train Derailment: Impacts and Emerging Lessons
Collaborative for Health and Environment (CHE) is hosting a webinar on the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio and the subsequent burning of chemicals contained in the train cars. The speakers intend to discuss the initial and continued response from government and community; ongoing challenges of this event; and how to reduce dependence on toxic chemicals and lessons learned from pollution prevention programs. The event will be held on March 22, 2023, 2:00 p.m. EST.
National Healthy Nail and Beauty Salon Call
The purpose of these calls is to connect the advocacy efforts happening around the country to advance salon workers’ health and safety including organizing, resource development, and policy work. The webinar will include an overview of the findings and recommendations from the report, Exposed: Ingredients in Salon Products & Salon Worker Health and Safety. Also, there will be updates on the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 and the New York Healthy Nail Salons Coalition. The webinar will be held on April 5, 2023, 1:00 p.m. EST.
Request for Information (RFI): Input for Developing the 2024-2028 National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Strategic Plan
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) solicits input from stakeholders in academia and industry, health care professionals, patient advocates and advocacy organizations, scientific or professional organizations, federal agencies, and other interested members of the public by reviewing the goals in the 2018-2023 Strategic Plan and proposing new goals for the 2024-2028 Strategic Plan. Responses must be received by April 20, 2023.
| On The Web This Week | Back to Top |
Utility Workers are Seeing the Consequences of Increasingly Extreme Weather Firsthand
When extreme rain hits, water utility workers need to respond quickly to keep communities safe from flooding, sewer overflows, and other hazards. These workers have a wealth of on-the-ground knowledge and they can provide utilities with valuable feedback on how plans are working, if new strategies or equipment are needed, or how to better allocate resources.
Billions of Dollars and More Than 30 EJ Screening Tools - How Are Justice40 Opportunities Rolling Out? Let’s Find Out!
The Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) is launching new research with Beech Hill Research and Climate XChange to analyze how states are mobilizing toward Justice40 and EJ goals in Infrastructure and IRA funding. In Phase 1, EPIC will follow the state workflow to consider and involve priority communities.
| Federal Agency Update | Back to Top |
U.S. Department of Labor Selects Nine Communities, Partners to Expand, Improve Workforce Opportunities for All Young People
To expand opportunities for youth workers across the nation and improve their employment outcomes, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has selected the first nine communities and their associated partners in its Youth Systems Building Academy. The academy seeks to strengthen local organizations’ ability to serve young people between 16 to 24 years of age who are disconnected from school and the workforce, and those in marginalized and underrepresented communities.
Biden-Harris Administration Launches Initiative to Promote Equal Opportunity, Expand Workforce for Federally Funded Jobs in Large Infrastructure Projects
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced, the launch of an initiative to promote equal opportunity by federal contractors in the construction trades on large federally funded projects, helping to bring more underrepresented communities into the workforce as the President’s agenda to Invest in America continues creating millions of good-paying jobs.
HHS Reopens Health Sector Climate Pledge
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Climate Change and Health Equity (OCCHE) announced that the White House-HHS Health Sector Climate Pledge will accept new signatories on an ongoing basis. The White House-HHS Health Sector Climate Pledge is a voluntary commitment to reduce emissions and improve climate resilience.
| Awardee Highlights/Online Learning | Back to Top |
When Train Crashes Leak Harmful Chemicals, Small Town Firefighters Can Be Vulnerable
Firefighters must follow detailed requirements specific to each chemical regarding what equipment they should wear and what distance they should maintain from an accident in order to be safe. It helps when they have hands-on training about how to respond to those kinds of events, indicated Jamie Burgess, who helps lead the hazardous materials training department of the International Association of Fire Fighters. But he believes that type of instruction is uncommon even among professionals.
NPR [Author: Chiara Eisner and Nick McMillan]
National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH) Fact Sheet: New Protections for Immigrant Workers to Defend Their Workplace Rights
All workers should be able to speak up about safety and other workplace rights without fear of retaliation. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), now has two ways that it can help immigrant workers stay in the United States so they can exercise their rights to safe and just workplaces. Workers who are experiencing a serious safety and health violation should seek assistance from a worker center and/or a local legal organization in filing a complaint with OSHA.
| Job Openings | Back to Top |
The Institute for Disaster and Emergency Preparedness at Nova Southeastern University Seeks a Director of Grant & Service Programs
The grant-funded Director will oversee teams on Project SEAMIST (SouthEast Area Marine Industry Safety Training) and the Southeast Area Hazardous Maritime Instructor Training grant. Responsibilities include reviewing current operations, developing strategic plans, monitoring budgets and resource allocation to optimize program services, implementing marketing plans and maintaining client relations. This is a Full-time, Hybrid position with benefits. Job posting under 993438.
| We Want Your Feedback | Back to Top |
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